Early Virginia Religious Petitions

Standards

Collection Overview

Early Virginia Religious Petitions
presents images of 423 petitions submitted to the Virginia legislature between 1774 and 1802 from more than eighty counties and cities. The petitions concern such topics as the historic debate over the separation of church and state championed by James Madison and Thomas Jefferson, the rights of dissenters such as Quakers and Baptists, the sale and division of property in the established church, and the dissolution of unpopular vestries. The collection provides searchable access to the petitions' places of origin and a brief summary of each petition's contents, as well as summaries of an additional seventy-four petitions that are no longer extant.

Special Features

These online exhibits provide context and additional information about this collection.